Wednesday, January 30, 2008

For a snack, a side dish or a simple meal. Delicious and flavorful.Fry onions until golden brown, almost burnt. Remove onions from pot and into pot add turmeric, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pod peeled. Add soaked lentils. Fry for 5 minutes. Add washed and drained Basmati rice. Fry for a few minutes. Add water, bring to boil. Add salt to taste. Simmer til rice and lentils are cooked. Just that easy.We had it as a meal with some buttered Naan. Perfect.

For the price, this is quite a complex and satisfying wine. It has the earthiness of a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, but the smooth plumy finish of a Cabernet Sauvignon. I have had Montalcinos before but this one really made me take notice. The flavors were everywhere from a roasted oak to a carmelized berry and because of the price tag, it made it all that more delicious. I enjoyed this wine with cured meats, and cheeses. It also went extremely well with the thin crust Margherita pizza. So well that a second bottle was in order.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

We used Halibut, about 2 pounds. Sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, green chiles, turmeric, poured in thick coconut milk, simmered all together, added halibut cut in about 2 inch pieces. Simmered for about 20 to 30 minutes...til the fish is cooked. We served it with saffron basmati rice and Channa Dal. We also rolled out our own chapatis. So delicious. the sweetness of the coconut milk and the tang of the green chilies were a perfect match. The meatiness of the Halibut held up in the creamy texture of the sauce, but fell apart by the touch of the fork. We will definitely try our hand at the chapatis again for they came out just a bit tough. Possibly from me over kneading. I am not a big fish eater, only on certain occasions, but this dish is right up my alley, especially because of the coconut milk and the chiles. It turned out a brilliant pastel yellow color, but because of the coconut milk it was beautifully shiny and vibrant. The next day of course it was even tastier after the flavors had time to meld with one another.